Music to Game to: Andrew Liles - The Dying Submariner: Complete Download Version

I listen to a lot of music (over 41 days worth in 2018 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

Andrew Liles – The Dying Submariner: Complete Download Version

The original edition of The Dying Submariner was subtitled: A Concerto For Piano And Reverberation In Four Movements is extremely minimal in instrumentation but extremely effective at portraying a sinking, claustrophobic atmosphere of being lost at, or worse, below the sea.
Ghostly piano playing echoes through the tracks, recasting the familiar instrument as an eerie explorer diving deeper and deeper into pitch black water. Nearing a length of 3 hours, the album provides plenty of soundtrack, bordering on soundscape, for doomed maritime adventures.
The Aqualungs versions, making up the last seven tracks, expand the instrumentation of the album but retain a maritime theme.

Vocals?...No
Music Genre(s)… Experimental, Ambient
Perfect for… Pitch black, haunted sessions of slowly building tension and dread.
If you only grab one track, make it... The minimal, yet menacing “The Dying Submariner – Part II”, which features rumbling piano lines that emerge from the depths of the track.

Music to Game to: Harvestman - Music for Megaliths

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

HARVESTMAN - MUSIC FOR MEGALITHS

Steve Von Till of metal stalwarts Neurosis is the force behind this moniker, but this album is not one of furious riffs and rock. Instead, synths and acoustic instrumentation mix together wonderfully, create a dark and ghostly palate conjuring moonlight forests where ancient standing stones wait for sacrifices to be offered up once again. This rich and resonant music will fit right in place as the soundtrack to many a fantasy game, especially those with a slightly darker edge.

• Vocals?...Yes, on the closer “White Horse” only.
• Music Genre(s)… Avantgarde, Ethereal, Experimental, Drone
• Perfect for… Any game where you want to add a subtle and dark foreboding atmosphere, like dark mist banks rolling through an ancient forest.
• If you only grab one track, make it... The haunting opener “The Forest is Our Temple” which brings an ancient Celtic feel with droning pipes and psychedelic guitar.

Music to Game to: S U R V I V E - MNQ026

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

S U R V I V E - MNQ026

You might have heard of S U R V I V E because two of the band members are responsible for the theme and score of Stranger Things, a little known Netflix series, and I'm not going to lie, if you like the music on that show, you're going to love MNQ026 (or any of S U R V I V E's other releases, to be honest). It's that good, tense, propulsive, John Carpenter inflected throwback Synthwave perfect for any 80's influence or set game.

• Vocals?...No
• Music Genre(s)… Ambient, Electronic Experimental, Synthwave
• Perfect for… Sci-fi and horror games where you want have a 80's throwback synthesizer soundtrack.
• If you only grab one track, make it... The pulsating and propulsive "Hourglass"

Music to Game to: Abominations of Yondo - That Remote and Awful Twilight

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

ABOMINATIONS OF YONDO – THAT REMOTE AND AWFUL TWILIGHT

Originally recommended by Warren Ellis, this is an excellent free album of eerie ambience draws inspiration from the penultimate chapter of ‘The Time Machine’ by H.G. Wells. The minimal and atmospheric soundscapes provide a fantastic backdrop for your players’ fertile imaginations to feast upon as they remain tense and slightly sinister without relying on bombast. A terrific addition to the sonic arsenal of any game master, especially one running a Cthulhu mythos inspired game.

• Vocals?...No
• Music Genre(s)… Ambient, Electronic Experimental
• Perfect for… Sci-fi and horror games where you want to add an understated, unsettling and otherworldly tension.
• If you only grab one track, make it...All of them, you’ve got no excuse not to grab this excellent FREE album.

Music to Game to: SUNN O))) - Black One

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

SUNN O))) – BLACK ONE

The purveyors of sonic doom took a decidedly bleak direction with Black One, resulting in an album that drips with hopelessness, claustrophobia and terror—this, of course, makes it a fantastic album to have as the soundtrack for any number of horror RPGs. The droning riffs of base and guitar give the songs a sense of implacability… these are not tracks to play when the party faces down a ferocious dragon but rather for when they have to stay one step ahead of an immensely ancient and potent vampire who will surely slay them unless they can remain just outside his grasp until the coming of dawn. This can be unsettling and anxiety inducing music, perfect for putting your players on edge as their characters cope with terrifyingly patient adversaries.

• Vocals?...Yes, heavily distorted
• Music Genre(s)… Black Metal, Doom Metal, Drone, Experimental, Dark Ambient
• Perfect for…Dark horror games where the PCs are relentlessly pursued by implacable horrors given the shape of humans across wind blasted stony stretches or deep below the earth in forgotten caverns.
• If you only grab one track, make it... the epic subterranean “Báthory Erzsébet”. The vocals for the track were recorded inside of a casket, which sounds like a gimmick but lends the vocals a desperate, desiccated sound that underline the ominous and claustrophobic dread of the song.

Music to Game to: Walker Harris English - Walker Harris English [OF013]

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

WALKER HARRIS ENGLISH – WALKER HARRIS ENGLISH [OF013]

Few things are finer in life than listening to Thor Harris playing the dulcimer, which makes this album a delight, but the archaic feel that a dulcimer evokes for most players will also make this album great for gaming too. In addition to the dulcimer (both acoustic and electric), Thor plays bass clarinet and is joined by field recordings from Conor Walker with bass drum and electronic treatments by Lawrence English. The sparse instrumentation lends the album an eerie feel, suspenseful without relying on intense spikes in dynamics and the lack of traditional rock instruments gives the music a ghostly timeless feel. This music would fit right in for a more subdued session of Call of Cthulhu or Ravenloft.

• Vocals?...No
• Music Genre(s)… Drone, Experimental
• Perfect for…Any game that could benefit from etherealness and low-key eerie suspense.
• If you only grab one track, make it... “The House Part II”, which opens with a haunting electric dulcimer melody, that then splits and divides like an amoeba, cleaving apart and back again.

Music to Game to: UUUU - s/t

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

UUUU – S/T

Perhaps it’s because I was getting deeper into Planescape at the same time that I was discovering more experimental industrial and post-punk music, but the stranger end of industrial and post-punk evokes the gritty philosophical struggles of Planescape and especially Sigil for me. With members of Wire, Thighpaulsandra and Vanishing Twin, there is an intoxicating eclecticism to the instrumentation and feel of this album that makes it perfect for the many portals, planes and factions of Planescape. Which the instrumentation, tempo and dynamics vary, there is still a unified sense of tension, mutation, propulsion, curiosity and shadowy unease that make the album feel like a whole. In addition to Planescape, it could serve very well as part of a soundtrack for a darker Numenera game or a cyberpunk or other harder sci-fi game.

• Vocals?...Yes, on “Boots With Wings” and “Verlagerung, Verlagerung, Verlagerung”
• Music Genre(s)…Experimental, Krautrock
• Perfect for…Planescape, Cyberpunk or Sci-fi games
• If you only grab one track, make it... “Five Gates” which mutates effortless through its 16 minute run time and well, I’ll just let the Joseph Burnett’s review from the Quietus sum it up: 
• At UUUU’s heart lies the bloated, ridiculous, wild and frequently beautiful 16-minute wigout that is ‘Five Gates’. It surges out of the speakers like an early Cure song overloaded with fuzz and distortion, Magaletti maintaining a simple rhythm under cascades of icy synths. But the quartet quickly tear it down with a demonic chorus and a collapsed-building jazz freakout that plunges the track into a pit of seething noises and freeform drum and guitar friction. Ever impatient, UUUU then shuffle into a mesmerising motorik groove, complete with seesawing guitar lines straight out of the Manuel Göttsching handbook which they perversely lock into with apparent glee even as they allow the piece to meander almost aimlessly. “Almost” being the appropriate word, because ‘Five Gates’ surges back into focus with almost delirious potency, the band channeling Hawkwind, Haino, early Tangerine Dream and Coil all at once to create a bewildering cocktail of abrasive, hypnotic and ferocious rock mayhem. There’s nothing subtle on ‘Five Gates’ or indeed across the entirety of UUUU, even on the quieter moments, but the quartet’s enjoyment at such untrammeled ritualistic chaos is a thing of beauty in and of itself.

Music to Game To: Xordox - Neospection

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

XORDOX - NEOSPECTION

I'm a JG Thirlwell junky...I’ve got a Manorexia tote-bag, I’ve even got Foetus on My Wall. He might be best known for his long-running Foetus project, or his work on the soundtrack on the Venture Bros (which is why I knew about that series before it ever aired back in 2003) but his Steroid Maximus, Manorexia and now, Xordox, projects work better for RPG soundtracks. All three projects share the cinematic feel of his soundtrack work, but the focused musical palette of Xordox, with only synthesizers and Sarah Lipstate (aka Noveller) processed guitars, lend it a cohesiveness that makes it less jarring for playing in the background then say, Manorexia’s The Radiolarian Ooze (which featured a warning that the skipping sound on the disc was intentional). Thirlwell describes Neospection as "Neon Noir" and that encapsulates it wonderfully, with the bright neon flare of 80’s sci-fi and the grittier paranoia of noir creeping in. It evokes those 80s soundtracks of John Carpenter and Vangelis, but without simply being tribute or pastiche. More than many other releases there’s an undercurrent of wonder as well, that keeps the album from descending into full darkness. There is really no way to do the album full justice, but it is far and away one of my favorite releases from 2017. Were I to run a Stranger Things/Papergirls inspired 80s sci-fi/time travel game, this one be a backbone of the soundtrack, along with S U R V I V E and John Carpenter’s Lost Themes.

• Vocals?...Minimal and processed vocals on one song, “Destination”
• Music Genre(s):...Experimental, Electronic
• Perfect for...Any game with a bit of science fiction edge to it or where a bit of 80s throwback synth feel would be appropriate.
• If you only grab one track, make it...“Pink Eye” which alternates between a low and pulsing melody and blasts of synth noise.

Music to Game To: Alec Empire - The CD2 Sessions: Live in London 7-12-2002

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

ALEC EMPIRE – THE CD2 SESSIONS: LIVE IN LONDON 7-12-2002

A few things to get out of the way, yes, this is a live album that I’m recommending and, also yes, this live album is the album I’d recommend if you only had a single album to use as the soundtrack of a cyberpunk game. Not to worry, this album doesn’t feature any of the usual hallmarks of a live album, like audience ambiance or applause, that can help a live album deliver an authentic concert experience. Instead it’s a live recreation of many of the experimental electronic songs off of CD 2 of Alec’s Intelligence and Sacrifice album, hence CD2 sessions. Beats and grooves come and go in the songs, but what carries through is a harsh-edge electronic paranoia, which makes this album perfect for a Cyberpunk RPG. A groove will build only to be shattered by a dissonant electronic sound and the longer running time of many of the tracks lets the songs build and morph. Thudding bass riffs, frantic glitches and shimmering electronics, there album is the base for the soundtrack of any cyberpunk game I run.

• Vocals?...Yes, “Electric Body Rock” features the lyrics “Electric Body Rock”
• Music Genre(s)… Experimental, Electro, Musique Concrète
• Perfect for…Any Cyberpunk game or any game where you want to add a deep cyberpunk feel.
• If you only grab one track, make it…”Technological Warfare”, seven minutes of high-voltage electronic tension.

Music to Game To: Einstürzende Neubauten - Zeichnungen Des Patienten O.T.

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.


EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN – ZEICHNUNGEN DES PATIENTEN O.T.

A classic album which encapsulates the early period of Einstürzende Neubauten, complete with salvaged metal percussion and re-purposed power tool instrumentation, but it transcends the industrial clichés to reach eerie and haunting peaks. Unlike many of the other albums recommended by this series, there is little chance that your players will be able to ignore this music as it accompanies your game… Still, I wanted to highlight this album as remains every bit as uncanny (or unheimlich, if you prefer) and affecting 34 years later. Not an album you’d play in the background but definitely mood setting and perfect… as you can tell from this Quietus summary:

Zeichnungen sounds as new, as bold, and as disturbing as any record in recent memory, by turns fiery and chilling, it's a relentlessly exploratory masterpiece of Cold War European decay… tracks on Zeichnungen include field recordings of disturbed children, the sound of fire, cannibalized snippets of Armenian folk melody, and humming electricity…the [title] track is built around a hand-crafted loop of shattering glass and Marc Chung's trademark machine-gun basswork, over which Bargeld howls out a dystopian vision of "a new sun, which burns more than it illuminates" and Barraud's dog listening for His Master's Voice not next to a record player but next to a tombstone.

• Vocals?...Yes, in German
• Music Genre(s)…Industrial, experimental
• Perfect for…Unsettling horror games. A Dread game set in the blasted remains of a post-apocalyptic city or a particularly savage and horrific Apocalypse World or Godless session.
• If you only grab one track, make it… “Neun Arme”, which pulses with singer Blixa Bargeld’s heartbeat, as caught by a fetal heart monitor and describes a yearning to return to simpler times of microbial existence.

Music to Game to: Ensemble Pearl - Ensemble Pearl

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

ENSEMBLE PEARL – ENSEMBLE PEARL
Ethereal and haunting, this one off featuring members of Boris and Sunn O))) is much more restrained and subdued than you might expect. Guitar drones weave amongst patient, methodical drumming, with bass notes hitting like water drops falling from stalactites in some deep cave. Where Belatedly felt like the underground music of a lost dwarven civilization, Ensemble Pearl is the music of empty underground ruins. Whatever once was here, all that remains is ghosts.

• Vocals?...None
• Music Genre(s)…Experimental, Drone, Dark Ambient
• Perfect for…A soundtrack for deep and abandoned caverns or the emptier and melancholy places of the lower planes, like the prisons of Carceri or the plains of the Grey Waste.
• If you only grab one track, make it…“Sexy Angle”, a lugubrious march of echoing drums, droning guitar lines and ghostly bass with a wailing viola guiding it to a slow and patient climax.